Princeton’s Endowment Up in 2024, but 3.9% Return Lags Behind Peers

Princeton University reported endowment gains for the first time since 2021, though the 3.9% return on investments for the last fiscal year was outpaced by every other school in the Ivy League, with the exception of Yale University, which has not yet released its figures. Five Ivy schools reported returns that more than doubled Princeton’s, on a percentage basis. 

The Princeton endowment, which ended fiscal year 2024 in June at $34.1 billion, is still the third largest in the Ivy League behind Yale ($40.7 billion as of last year) and Harvard ($53.2 billion). 

Following the historic 46.9% return on endowment investments in 2021, Princeton reported losses of 1.5% and 1.7% in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The average annual return on the endowment has been 9.2% for the last 10 years and 9.9% over the last 20 years.  

According to the University’s announcement, distributions from the endowment totaled $1.7 billion last fiscal year, and “over the last 20 years, the endowment has contributed $19.8 billion toward the University’s operations, equivalent to almost double the endowment’s value at the start of that time span.”  

The endowment provides about two-thirds of the University’s net annual operating revenues and helps fund high priority strategic initiatives; it currently covers 70% of the undergraduate financial aid budget. 

“Generations of generous philanthropy, coupled with excellent stewardship of our endowment, enable the University to make bold investments in human talent,” said Provost Jennifer Rexford ’91 in the University’s announcement. “The endowment allows us to offer unparalleled financial support to our students, launch major research initiatives, and build state-of-the-art facilities.” 

This year’s return was certified by the Princeton University Investment Co. (Princo), the entity that manages the endowment, earlier this month. 

Princo president Vincent Tuohey, who succeeded Andrew Golden in June, was not immediately available for an interview with PAW. 

Endowment Returns in the Ivy League, 

2024 Fiscal Year

Sources: Columbia University Investment Management Co., Brown University, Harvard University Financial Report, Cornell Chronicle, Dartmouth College, Penn Office of Investments, Princeton University Office of Communications